LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 28
Chapter 28: The True Value of Ability
A man with a robust frame and a short hairstyle caught my eye.
Upon closer inspection, I recognized him.
Park Dong-pal.
He was a man who had been released from Daehan Correctional Facility a month ago and was a mid-level member of the Namryong faction.
In the 5th Floor, Unit 2 where Si-hyun worked, he had been someone we didn’t need to manage closely, going about his prison life without causing any trouble.
Even before his Awakening, he had kept to himself, quietly working out.
“You’re here, brother.”
The man with snake-like eyes and the man with scars on his face bent at a 90-degree angle to show respect. It was a greeting that was officially banned in prison due to the bad influence of gang culture. Of course, gangsters didn’t care and did it openly.
“What’s this?”
Park Dong-pal glanced over Si-hyun’s group and asked shortly.
He apparently didn’t recognize Si-hyun yet.
“It’s nothing, brother. We were just planning to send you somewhere else so that your drinking mood wouldn’t be spoiled with these pesky guards around.”
The man with snake-like eyes replied.
“Really? Just keep it down and send him quietly.”
Dong-pal waved his hand dismissively and sat down.
The man with snake-like eyes glared again at Si-hyun’s group.
“You heard what the brother said? Hurry up and scram.”
“Let’s head down.”
Woong-jae urged Si-hyun’s group.
Si-hyun was already planning on that.
But suddenly, a thought crossed his mind.
Here was someone who used to be an inmate but was now released.
This was the very case Si-hyun had mentioned wanting to test if his abilities would work.
Curiosity surged within him to confirm that.
When he looked at Dong-pal and discreetly opened his status window, he saw no change in his stats.
Since he had served his time, did that mean he was no longer classified as an inmate?
That seemed highly probable, but it didn’t instill enough certainty in him just yet.
Thus, Si-hyun hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“Park Dong-pal.”
“….”
“….”
This time, the gangsters wore expressions as if they’d misheard something. They couldn’t fathom that Si-hyun would casually call out the name of Park Dong-pal, a mid-level member of their organization.
Si-hyun’s classmates, unaware of who Dong-pal was, couldn’t comprehend his actions.
“Park Dong-pal.”
Si-hyun called again.
At last, a reaction came from the gangsters.
The faces of the snake-eyed man and the scar-faced man twisted into expressions of severe hostility.
They looked as if they had seen their arch-nemesis.
Their demeanor was one that practically shouted they would stab him at any moment.
“What? You son of a b*tch!”
The snake-eyed man threw a punch.
It was a sharp punch, suggesting he had some boxing training.
If it had been his own matter, he probably wouldn’t have held back and would have punched right away.
But to have his brother’s face marred in front of others was something he could never accept. There was no worse disgrace than such a thing happening where he was present.
However, Si-hyun nonchalantly dodged the snake-eyed man’s punch.
Had it been before his Awakening, he would have definitely taken a beating.
But now, things were on a different level.
“Oh, what’s this? You got a bit of skill, huh?”
The snake-eyed man sneered coldly.
Some guys think they can look down on gangsters just because they work out a bit.
There was a simple solution to deal with those cocky fools.
Those who puff themselves up from working out usually freeze in place once you pull out a weapon.
He drew a curved knife wrapped in black tape from his waistband. The sight of a weapon, something usually seen in gangster movies, made the female patrons scream.
“Hey, Si-hyun, let’s hurry up and get out of here!”
Even Jong-hyuk, who had guts, shouted.
No matter how confident someone was in a fight, they knew that avoiding a dangerous weapon was the best course of action.
The rest of Si-hyun’s classmates, caught in this unexpected urgency, were frozen, unsure of what to do.
“We should… call the police…”
As someone said that, the scar-faced man glared fiercely.
“Go ahead and report it. I’ll hunt you down and kill you.”
‘Oops, oops.’
Si-hyun regretted it as things escalated beyond his expectations.
He had thought that if his abilities activated, everything would be fine, and even if they didn’t, given their past acquaintance, the atmosphere wouldn’t turn this hostile.
But it appeared the lackeys thought Dong-pal’s pride was hurt, and they reacted with a violence more vicious than anticipated.
What a tricky situation this was.
Then Dong-pal stood up.
He wore a complex expression that was hard to decipher.
“…Cut it out.”
“What?”
“Cut it out.”
“What? Brother? But…”
“I said cut it out, you moron!”
Slap!
Smack!
Dong-pal raised his hand and brutally slapped the snake-eyed man’s face.
With each hit, his head spun sharply, quickly turning red.
The surrounding crowd stared with wide eyes, silenced by this absurd yet fierce development.
“Apologize.”
Dong-pal said.
“What…?”
The snake-eyed man, intimidated by Dong-pal’s imposing demeanor, was taken aback, almost questioning in disbelief.
Fortunately for him, this time, no slap followed.
“I said apologize to that person.”
Dong-pal’s finger precisely pointed at Si-hyun.
‘Huh?’
Si-hyun’s expression changed as he picked up on something.
‘Does it work?’
If his abilities didn’t activate, there would be no reason for them to bow down like this even outside of prison.
His stats hadn’t risen, but the reputation of the Iron-Blooded Guard seemed to hold sway.
A hypothesis formed in his mind.
Perhaps after being exposed to an unbearable fear in prison for so long, that fear had become imprinted on them.
So even after being released, seeing him instinctively made them feel pressure.
Looking closely, Dong-pal’s eyes showed signs of anxiety.
“You apologize too.”
Dong-pal said the same to the scar-faced man.
The scar-faced man, startled, couldn’t refuse because it was his brother speaking.
Standing side by side, the snake-eyed man and the scar-faced man bowed deeply to Si-hyun.
“We’re sorry.”
“Y-yeah… understood.”
Si-hyun received their apology.
He had faced verbal abuse and had gotten a knife pulled on him, but fortunately, he didn’t suffer any physical harm.
In a situation where things were finally settling down, it would be awkward not to accept their apology.
Dong-pal approached.
He bowed his head too and wore an earnest expression of regret.
“I’m really sorry, sir. I should have recognized you sooner…”
“It’s fine.”
As he looked at Dong-pal’s expression, Si-hyun was convinced.
The effect of the Iron-Blooded Guard lingered even on the inmates released from the wards he supervised.
Otherwise, a mid-level gangster like Dong-pal wouldn’t bow his head and display such an expression, especially outside the walls of the prison.
At that moment, a thought popped into Si-hyun’s head.
There was surely a way to make use of this.
Prisons hold various types of characters.
There are politicians, chaebols, professors, gangsters, and if you go to a special ward, even hunters.
Of course, up until now, Si-hyun had never dealt with any big names socially. He had yet to manage a politician or a chaebol.
But someday, that opportunity might arise.
‘…If I use this well, it could be an insane ability!’
The more he thought about it, the more astonished he felt.
Whether it could work on monsters or not had already become a trivial matter.
A mere prison guard could build connections with billionaires or politicians. People he wouldn’t have a chance to encounter otherwise.
It was obvious how beneficial that could be without needing to think too deeply.
Suddenly, he remembered a story from two years ago about a CEO of a large conglomerate.
He had been placed in solitary confinement and was given special treatment, naturally. A medical officer had rushed over just for a minor scratch he received while exercising.
Upon seeing that barely noticeable injury, he had exclaimed in horror, “Oh dear, what shall I do?”
If it had been an ordinary inmate, the medical officer wouldn’t have even bothered to respond, and would have rudely told them not to call for trivial issues.
The social hierarchy, where the weak are treated harshly and the strong charitably, applied even in prisons.
“Sir, as a token of my apology, I’d like to give you this…”
Dong-pal pulled out his wallet and reached for a handful of 50,000 won bills to shove into Si-hyun’s pocket.
“Receiving something like this is a big deal.”
Si-hyun quickly rejected Dong-pal’s hand.
Not with so many eyes watching.
His heart sank.
This could lead to serious trouble.
“Oh, I was being thoughtless.”
Noting that Si-hyun was a public servant, Dong-pal finally apologized.
He continued, “I’ll make sure to give you some space. Enjoy your meal in comfort with your companions.”
“No, the mood was already ruined.”
Si-hyun countered.
There was no way he would drink again after it had all turned sour.
“That aside… could I at least have a business card?”
After giving it a bit of thought, Si-hyun asked that.
He thought there might come a time when gang connections would be of use.
Upon hearing that, Dong-pal wore an incredibly troubled expression.
While he personally didn’t want to entangle himself with Si-hyun again, it felt really hard and awkward to reject Si-hyun’s request.
In the end, after much hesitance, he handed Si-hyun a card.
“…You can contact me anytime if you need it.”
The business card read, Team Leader Park Dong-pal, Cheon Yu Power.
He had heard that gangsters were becoming more corporate and operating under the guise of service or construction companies, and it seemed that this was indeed the case.
After handing over the card, Dong-pal looked uncomfortable in Si-hyun’s presence and politely took his leave with his gang.
“Hey, you…”
Si-hyun’s friends were clearly bursting with words they wanted to say.
“Let’s just head out for now.”
With that, Si-hyun exited down the stairs.
He had drawn too much attention.
◈ ◈ ◈
He briefly explained to his friends that Dong-pal was a gangster serving time in the ward he supervised.
He expressed regret for having called out a name he wasn’t supposed to, not realizing how the underlings would react.
Since there was no outright lie, his friends seemed convinced.
However, they voiced concerns about what it meant for a correctional officer to receive a gangster’s business card, but he replied that given the situation, it couldn’t be helped.
“Anyway, I’m glad I came to the reunion today.”
Si-hyun muttered as he got home.
By chance, he had resolved what he’d planned to test by seeking out a released inmate.
Thanks to that, he had discovered a powerful new avenue for building connections.
The abilities of Po-ahim, which had felt increasingly odd the more he learned about them.
The notion that they were useless in a raid was irrelevant.
The fact that a mere correctional officer could network with billionaires and politicians.
It was a reality that such a meeting, which he would normally never have, was readily available.
He didn’t need to think deeply to understand how beneficial that would be.
Suddenly, a notification appeared.
[To use the Restraint Technique effectively, blood, sweat, and tears are necessary. Po-ahim has also undergone this arduous process. Po-ahim desires you to show a similar commitment to mastering the Restraint Technique.]
[Quest: Use the Restraint Technique to bind 100 humans. 0/100]